Kansas Tornado and Dust Storm

In the early 1930s, my mother, Tillie, taught 17 children in a one-room school in rural central Kansas. Recently, an elderly man, Stanley, who had her as his teacher when he was in the second grade told me many things about my Mom that I did not know. For example, one day a tornado came through during the school day and blew the school off its foundation! Stanley said my Mom was calm throughout the entire storm and her actions were appreciated by the entire community. A second story Stanley told me involved the 1930s dust storms that occurred in Kansas. He said that when the days turned to night because of the dust storms, my Mom gave the students each a candle for their desks and then he said, “She gave us a lesson in fire safety.” These two quilts will be added to the box of 14 other quilts that are vignettes of my Mother’s life; I’m hoping my children and their children will keep these for many years to come. You can see all the the quilts and the story by going to “Tillie’s Story” on the menu across the top of this blog.

Each quilt is 13″ X 13.” They are made from fiber and thread with the story appliqued by ha